


left to put the puzzle together

by fireworkrainouts



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: "that should NOT have worked", "that's... probably not how the Force works", A LOT of sighing, Ahsoka Tano the detective, Anakin is always on the move, Anakin is way too fast, Bad Decisions, Everyone Needs A Hug, Everyone Needs More Sleep, Hurt/Comfort, Minor Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker, Murder, Mystery, Obi-Wan is a little slow, POV Changes, Swearing, also I have no idea how SW comm's work, bear with me, improvising, mostly Anakin & Ahsoka & Obi-Wan POV though, stupid plans, wait a minute how did this happen we're smarter than this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-09
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2020-10-13 08:02:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20579177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fireworkrainouts/pseuds/fireworkrainouts
Summary: Chancellor Palpatine is found dead, with no traces left of the possible murderer but a simple blaster wound. Meanwhile, the famous Jedi general and knight Anakin Skywalker has been missing for several weeks, and there are no traces of him found either.As the Clone Wars rage on, the Republic is on the verge of falling apart, heroes must stand to keep the galaxy together for one last show. Even apart, The Team is united for the grand finale.





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah so this is quicker than expected

>>>>>  
BREAKING NEWS! BREAKING NEWS! JEDI GENERAL AND WAR HERO ANAKIN SKYWALKER IS REPORTED MISSING BY THE JEDI COUNCIL!

Citizens of Coruscant were in tears. Their hero was gone. Most of them instantly accused the separatists; their heroic general had to have been kidnapped, or possibly even killed by them. Other beings outside of Coruscant, especially ones on planets with war, cried out in despair; what hope did they have, without Skywalker?

Padmé Amidala Skywalker was horrified, her world collapsed. She panicked and tried to contact her husband several times, but got no answer. She burst into tears, with one hand on her stomach. 

Ahsoka Tano had already once decided to put her past behind her, and start a new life, but she could hardly ignore these news. She sighed, reached for her comm, and dialed her old friend.

The Jedi Council was very confused. Anakin Skywalker had disappeared and left no traces behind him. The last sighting of Anakin was on the lower levels of Coruscant a week ago, where he had according to witnesses been “running inhumanely fast (thus with the help of the Force) with tears glistening on his face”. Where he had gone was a mystery, as was why he had been crying.

The 501st were interrogated, for Skywalker was supposed to be with them to brief them for their next mission. They didn’t know anything. According to clone captain Rex (CT-7567), Skywalker had never shown up. When they had seen him before, Skywalker had been completely normal.

Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi was the last person who had spoken with Anakin. He was desperately searching his brain for any clue, for anything Anakin had said that could give them any trail, but he found nothing out of ordinary. Anakin had behaved normally. He’d told Obi-Wan that “he had some thinking to do”, which he would say very often, especially after the Tup & Fives-case, Ahsoka’s departure and before a mission.

After weeks, nothing was found.

* * *

>>>>>

BREAKING NEWS! BREAKING NEWS! CHANCELLOR SHEEV PALPATINE IS FOUND DEAD IN HIS OFFICE!

The streets of Coruscant were in chaos. Pictures of the dead Chancellor flashed on the giant holoscreens everywhere. People were marching in the senate, crying hysterically on the streets, gathering their loved ones together in fear of the world ending.

Accusing fingers were quickly pointed at CIS, with people rallying (“first they took Skywalker, now they take Palpatine!”). Many thought these two events were somehow connected, being only three weeks apart, though no valid proof existed. 

Several systems were instantly threatening to join the Separatists, because they decided that without Palpatine, the Republic would be weak and incapable of protecting them.

No security recordings of the office existed, nor any recordings of the hallways around the Chancellor’s office. The recordings seemed to have been erased, or not made at all. The recording stopped around the time the guards left the room and continued approximately thirty-five minutes after the murder of the Chancellor, showing the chancellor lying on the floor, dead.

Thus the guards had not been present, either. During their interrogation (which had miraculously been held only a couple of hours after the Chancellor had been found dead), they explained that the Chancellor had told them no guarding was needed in the following hour, that he would be safe. They had not been allowed to be even outside the office. The Chancellor had ordered them to leave the entire floor, just for an hour.

A blaster wound was found right on the heart of the Chancellor, meaning the shooter must’ve had very good aim or an insane amount of luck. The blaster itself had been lying on the floor one meter away from the corpse. No DNA could be recovered, nothing. The blaster was ordinary, generic and cheap. It could’ve been bought from any firearm store on Coruscant, or outside of Coruscant.

The Jedi promised to help with the investigation, but even they couldn't find anything at first. With the war raging on (upon the Chancellor’s death, the separatists had only attacked more fiercely) all resources had to be used to protect the Republic, and it would take time to organize a proper investgation.

Mas Amedda, the Vice Chair, took over the Senate first, so they could get some order. The Senate was truly a mess, though, and with most of the senators in shock, no decisions could be made.

The only place that the death of the Chancellor didn’t really affect was the battlefield. There was no time to grieve, the war wouldn’t wait. Of course many lost hope in the future, but the clones kept on fighting for the Republic.

What exactly had happened?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...and thanks for reading!
> 
> chapters will definitely be longer than this, this is just the prologue.
> 
> I only have, uh, two chapters pre-written, so this should be great! also, this time there will actually be weekly updates, like, just once a week, so I have time to write more haha


	2. Obi-Wan / a mess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Obi-Wan is not very fond of this situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll uPdAte oNcE a wEeK
> 
> yeah ok this doesn't count it was only the prologue so this is completely allowed

Obi-Wan groaned as he took a look at his comm. He had tens of missed calls and a whole heap of messages. A small hope inside him ignited, as he looked through the list. 

6 missed calls from Ahsoka Tano, 2 missed calls from Padmé Amidala, way too many missed calls from unknown sources (likely reporters - Obi-Wan still didn't know how his comm was leaked, but he was very displeased with it), 3 missed calls from Mace Windu (he figured it had to be an upcoming Council meeting), 1 missed call from Captain Rex (that was new) and 2 missed calls from Plo Koon, who had helped him to look for Anakin, even after the Council had decided they couldn’t afford a proper investigation because they lacked the resources.

After finding out that he actually had a Council meeting he should attend, he decided that he should prioritize the Council first, and so he changed quickly. He couldn't make himself look presentable, exactly, but he could wash his face. Yesterday had been one gigantic mess. The Chancellor’s death had been announced during the afternoon, and all hell broke loose. Obi-Wan had been down a few levels, trying to calm protestors and other hysterical people, up in the sky ensuring Coruscant’s safety and back down again to help the Senate with various attacks. Finally, Obi-Wan had gotten back to the Temple about two hours ago to sleep. So no, he hadn't really had time for showering.

His life had been very chaotic for the past few weeks, anyway. Anakin’s sudden disappearance had turned everything upside down; he had learned the extent of Anakin’s and Padmé’s relationship, he got back in contact with Ahsoka and learned just how _hard_ it could be to find someone. Also, he’d realized just how much Anakin meant to him and how Obi-Wan should probably rethink his entire stance on attachment.

As he collapsed into his soft and comfortable Council seat, he wondered how exactly everything could fall apart so quickly, with no warning at all. 

“We all know why we’re here”, Mace Windu said grimly. “The Chancellor is dead, and there’s nothing we can use as a trail. It’s an awfully well-done job, from the murderer.”

“Disturbing, this is”, Yoda murmured with a distant look in his eyes. “Surrounded by darkness, we are.”

“Anyhow, we’re looking for anything to use as a clue now. Starting with possible connections to Skywalker and his disappearance.”

“The two of them were close”, Obi-Wan sighed. “That’s all there is to it.”

“Chancellor Palpatine insisted he could organize an investigation for Skywalker, when we said we couldn’t”, Ki-Adi Mundi spoke. 

“Because he cared about Anakin. I don’t see any other reason why”, Obi-Wan repeated. 

“Have we spoken with them yet? I mean, the investigators of the skywalker case?” Plo Koon asked.

“No, why?” Windu replied. “The investigation was put down recently, remember?”

“What if they found something, just now, and the Chancellor had to be… eliminated?” Plo Koon suggested.

“Ahsoka did try to comm me today, but that isn’t necessarily related to anything new being found”, Obi-Wan said, trying not to glare at Windu for saying the investigation was put down. (It wasn’t, it had merely lost a couple investigators because they were needed elsewhere.)

Ahsoka was one of the leaders of the entire investigation, along with Palpatine’s officers. Obi-Wan had been very relieved when she’d volunteered, because he knew he could always trust Ahsoka. The only one making mistakes and being untrustable was Obi-Wan himself, by not defending Ahsoka enough during the Jedi Temple bombing mess.

“What kind of information could they have found that could be so important?”

“A clue about Skywalker’s whereabouts, perhaps.”

“And that could give… what motive, exactly?”

“Anakin is the Chosen one”, Obi-Wan said quietly. “The Sith would obviously try to hide him.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. This is entirely speculation”, Kit Fisto interrupted. “Anyone could’ve been behind this. Most likely the separatists, I assume. You all saw what happened - millions lost their trust in the Republic with Chancellor Palpatine’s death.” 

“Right, master Fisto is”, Yoda sighed. “Know nothing, we do.”

* * *

As he made his way back to his quarters to grab something to eat before leaving the Temple, Obi-Wan was pretty sure that was one of the most unnecessary Council meetings he’d taken part of. Nothing new, nothing that wasn’t obvious. 

The Council had ordered him to ensure the safety of the Senate with Aayla Secura and Kit Fisto, as they were the only ones available for this. Obi-Wan had accepted the mission, although he did not look forward to standing in the midst of angry and scared politicians for hours.

Right as he was leaving, he remembered that Rex had tried to comm him. Obi-Wan decided to contact him immediately. Or at least, he tried to. He had already begun starting his speeder when Rex finally answered.

“You tried to comm, Rex? Something to tell me?”

“Uh, yes, sir. I have a question, to be exact.”

“Ask away.”

“Have the Jedi or Coruscant police found any connection with the Chancellor’s death and general Skywalker?”

That wasn't what Obi-Wan expected. He frowned as his speeder took off into the Coruscant traffic. 

“No, we - or they - haven’t. Why?”

“It’s just… The entire 501st has been worried for the general, of course. I just wanted to know if anything was found.”

“I understand. You’re being treated well, though?” Obi-Wan asked, a little worriedly.

“Yes sir, definitely. No Umbara 2.0, but… it’s not the same as with general Skywalker, either. We all hope he’ll be found soon.”

“As do I, captain Rex, as do I.”

* * *

In the Senate building, Obi-Wan ran into Padmé first.  
  
“Hello there, senator”, he greeted, trying not to sound like he was in such a giant hurry as he was.   
  
“Master Kenobi”, Padmé replied. “I - have the Jedi found anything? Anything at all?”

“I’m afraid not”, Obi-Wan replied, unsure whether Padmé meant Anakin or Palpatine, but deciding that it didn't really matter.

“What do you think?”

“Think of… what? There sure is a lot going on.”

Padmé crossed her arms impatiently. “Is there a connection? With Anakin gone and Chancellor Palpatine dead?”

“I don’t know. Maybe there is, maybe there isn’t”, Obi-Wan said- He hadn’t had enough time to think yet.

“Oh, it’s just a coincidence they happened so close to each other, huh?”

“Padmé, it’s been _ three weeks _ \- “

“- which is not a long time!” she countered angrily. “There _ has _ to be something!”

“I have to go now”, Obi-Wan sighed tiredly. “I’ll see you later.”

Padmé didn’t reply, and stormed off. Obi-Wan rubbed his eyes before continuing towards the hall he was supposed to meet Kit and Aayla in. _What a mess._

* * *

Nothing alarming happened for the entire afternoon. The investigation was quickly brought to a dead end. You don’t get far without any related objects anyway. The only thing they had was the blaster used, and Palpatine’s corpse, and they were where the leads started and where they ended.

Obi-Wan was woken up from his trance by a beeping commlink. He signaled Aayla that he was going to answer, before slipping out of the auditorium into the corridor.

“Kenobi?", he answered.

The image of Ahsoka appeared. 

“Your lack of capability of answering calls is almost disturbing, general Kenobi”, she deadpanned.

“I apologize, but I’ve been rather busy, as you might understand.”  
  
“Yeah, okay. Woah. I can barely comprehend this. This is huge.” Ahsoka paused. “I take it there’s nothing but a hard, cold, dead end?”

“You’re right.”

“Well, that’s a familiar situation.”

Obi-Wan almost smiled. “Unfortunately.”

“I’m also pretty sure that Palpatine was somehow connected to Anakin.”

“I’ve heard that one a few times today”, Obi-Wan told her.

“I can imagine. Have you had any big realizations today?”

“No, can’t say that I have. Just wondering whether we ever checked those recordings of the briefing room area Anakin was supposed to go in. It popped into my head from all that talk about security recordings of the senate.”

“Rex said he wasn’t there.”

“I know, Ahsoka, but Rex and the rest of 501st present were _ in _ the room. I want to be sure that we haven’t missed anything. What if he had been in the hallway and then turned around or something?”

Again, Ahsoka was silent for a moment. “That should count as an at least medium realization.”

“It won’t help us much even if we find out he’s been there, Ahsoka.”

“Anyway, I’ll check. I heard you’re protecting senators?”

“I am.”

“Have you seen Padmé?”

“Yes.”

“How was she?”

“Not good, as you might expect”, Obi-Wan said, before glancing at the door. “I should probably get back.”

“You do that. Enjoy your night with politicians”, Ahsoka replied and her picture was gone.

* * *

Obi-Wan watched as the last of the senate disappeared from central auditorium. Almost nothing had happened. A few senators had to be removed for being too aggressive, a group of protestors demanding the Republic to act against the separatists had burst in somehow, but otherwise, everything had gone well, given the situation. This could almost count as an ordinary day in the Senate, if you squinted.

“Now, master Kenobi, it’s been quite a day, hasn’t it?”

“Indeed it has, master Secura.”

They walked out the auditorium to the corridor so they could watch the sunset of Coruscant together. Obi-Wan suddenly felt incredibly tired. The severity of what had happened started to slowly sink in. Chancellor Palpatine was dead, murdered. Although Obi-Wan hadn’t always agreed with his decisions, the man had been a respected Chancellor who held the Republic together. Anakin had liked him very much, which meant that he must’ve been a good person, too.

He wondered whether Anakin knew of the Chancellor’s death. Maybe Anakin was already seeking revenge, and looking after the possible murdered like they were. Maybe Anakin was held in a separatist cell and knew nothing. Maybe Anakin had been tortured out of his mind. Maybe Anakin -

There was no point in thinking like that. Obi-Wan had gone through several what-if paths already. He just had to believe Anakin was alive. He didn’t have any reason to believe Anakin was not. The bond between him and Anakin had never exactly broken - the other end was just… silent. That could mean many things: Anakin had purposefully cut him off, Anakin had a Force inhibitor on him… but most importantly, the one thing he knew for sure: Anakin wasn’t dead.

“So, this is the beginning of the great unknown”, Kit Fisto said, joining their conversation.

“Oh, master Fisto, I believe we’ve been in the great unknown for many years, now”, Obi-Wan sighed. “This seems more like a beginning of the end.”

“That’s a rather… pessimistic outlook, master Kenobi.”

“We haven’t got too many reasons to be optimistic, do we?” 

Obi-Wan closed his stinging eyes, and tried to calm his overworked body down. He hadn’t eaten anything since his quick snack in the morning, and he was certainly dehydrated. Obi-Wan couldn’t even remember the last time he actually slept well. 

“No, I guess you’re right”, Aayla Secura said, smiling sadly. “I take it… there’s nothing new on the case of Skywalker?”

“Nothing new”, Obi-Wan confirmed, wishing there would be even something old.

The three Jedi remained in front of the giant window, watching the Republic that was barely keeping it together. 

* * *

Obi-Wan collapsed into his bed, out of breath. He was not in good condition, he couldn’t fool himself any longer. Ahsoka had lectured him about his unhealthy habits of not eating or sleeping, but Obi-Wan had lost his appetite after Jabiim, the last remains of his sleep after Zigoola and the longer the war went on, the worse it got. Anakin had had the same problem. He would always beat himself up for not saving everyone. (Not unlike Obi-Wan himself.)

If only Anakin was here. If Anakin was here, everything would be so much better. He’d always have some insane plan or idea. Obi-Wan stared at the ceiling. He was usually good at hiding his emotions, but in the darkest hours of the night…

Ahsoka had said that Anakin wouldn’t want Obi-Wan to overwork himself, which was true, but the thing was that were their roles reversed, Anakin would do the same, if not more. 

But Obi-Wan hadn’t completely destroyed himself (yet). He was trying. Today, after the Senate session was over, he’d grabbed some food from the cafeteria and drunk a solid liter of water and when he arrived to his own quarters he’d made tea and a sandwich. And now he was sleeping. Trying to sleep. Almost.

His comlink started beeping and flashing its small but irritating light. Grumbling, Obi-Wan sat up. He took the little device in his hand.

“Kenobi”, he said in his most irritated voice.

“Obi-Wan? I found something”, Ahsoka said as her image flashed alive.

“Huh? Wha - from the security recordings?” Obi-Wan asked slowly, when he remembered his conversation with her earlier.

“Yes, or more so… I found there are no security recordings from the hallway. Or any hallway near the briefing room. No recordings, of the entire day. I checked. Nothing from the entire way from the room to the nearest exit. Not even the outside cameras have recordings from that day.”

“What?”

“You heard right.”

“But - they… are you sure that not all of the cameras in the temple had stopped recording? For a day?”

“Yes. I’m certain", Ahsoka replied, her voice almost slightly offended. "I checked.”

Obi-Wan couldn’t speak for a moment. This was the biggest thing they’d discovered in the three weeks Anakin had been gone since the eye-witnesses. 

“Okay. That’s… quite something. We have to… did you check -”, Obi-Wan paused so he could properly form a sentence. “- did you check the security recordings of the security recording room?”

Ahsoka smiled. “No, not yet. I’ll do it immediately.”

“I’ll come, too”, Obi-Wan announced, all fatigue gone in an instant, replaced by excitement and hope.

“Obi-Wan -”

“If you think I’ll be able to sleep after this, you’re not as smart as I remembered”, Obi-Wan interrupted, and stood up. “I’m on my way.”

“Of course. I’ll be expecting you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading!
> 
> found a mistake? please notify me, or, something


	3. Anakin Skywalker / second that, sir

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Surprisingly enough, Anakin isn't too happy about this either.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here we are again, this time with some action!  
like last time, most part the swearing is in English, although I've included a few Star Wars's curse words too :)

Anakin stared into nothingness. He was completely alone. His plan suddenly seemed very bad and flawed, and Anakin couldn’t help but groan and bury his face into his hands. His brown, curly hair was living its own life on his head. It was greasy and dirty and Anakin could  _ hear _ both his mother and Obi-Wan complain about it in his mind. They would also complain about his… plan.

Could he even call it a plan? “Go to Kamino, do some...  _ research _ , try to change the  _ entire clone production, _ don’t get caught”. Now, he was in hyperspace, pretty damn near _hyperventilating_, wondering how the hell he was getting on the Republic cruiser going to Kamino unnoticed. Maybe he should’ve listened to Artoo after all. Even Obi-Wan would agree on that, for once.

This was going to be so stupid and too much of his plan relied on pure luck. (Which, to be honest, didn’t differ from the usual.) Anakin sighed, again, and tried to picture himself calm. He wondered whether Obi-Wan would do better job at this, but it was hard to imagine Obi-Wan in his situation at all. Obi-Wan was nowhere near idiotic enough for this nonsense.

But it just happened so that Anakin was the one stuck in his position, and Obi-Wan was probably just chilling and having the time of his life on Coruscant wiyhout Anakin. Amazing.   


But, well, what would Obi-Wan actually  _ do  _ in his place? Back when Anakin was a padawan, he used to wonder what Qui-Gon would do, but the older he got the more he started to trust Obi-Wan’s decisions. And the cold, harsh truth was that Obi-Wan was alive, Qui-Gon was not, which had to mean something.   


Then again, Anakin was alive as well, so perhaps that didn’t prove anything. 

Going back to Coruscant and waiting for the next ship would be stupid. It would be so absolutely moronic not even Anakin could pull that off. But the only few options he had left were all insane. Anakin contemplated whether he should go somewhere else first and go to Kamino later. This was going to be very hard, but visiting Kamino was necessary and he didn’t exactly have time to spare. He had to make sure that his choices weren’t fatally bad.

Anakin closed his eyes again. He needed a plan. A plan that included the “getting to Kamino” part. He could either take a risk - not a normal, little risk, but an actually giant risk that could potentially ruin everything - or abandon Kamino for now. Anakin was just afraid that “abandoning Kamino for now” would cause problems for later. Besides, Anakin liked taking risks.   


Which meant that Anakin Skywalker would absolutely go to Kamino. To hell with being careful. Anakin had stopped being careful a long time ago.

Flying without an astromech was a pain in the ass, Anakin thought and tried to recall why exactly he’d left Artoo on Coruscant. Of course he hadn’t forgotten. How could he? He wondered whether Obi-Wan had already found the recording Artoo brought on Coruscant. Anakin really hoped he had, because Anakin hated worrying other people, which was very unfortunate if you were, y’know, a Jedi Knight. The message he had left behind wasn’t exactly… reassuring, but it was better than nothing.

“Amazing, I’m out of time”, Anakin mumbled to himself as his ship came out of hyperspace.

Anakin was bad at acting. He absolutely sucked at it. He was, if possible, even worse at lying. Now, Anakin would have to do both flawlessly. Luckily, Anakin was a fast learner.

What he needed now was complete self-confidence, and trust in himself. It was just hard to have faith when the only thing keeping Anakin moving was caffeine and some disgusting ration bar he’d eaten a couple of hours ago. Oh, and the fact Anakin was, again, completely and utterly alone.

For the millionth time that day, Anakin wondered whether he should’ve taken Artoo with him. The answer was  _ yes, you should’ve _ but Anakin just added it to the long list of regrets and tried to concentrate on the present, like he had been told to do by Obi-Wan so many times.

Oh Force, how Anakin missed Obi-Wan. He hadn’t seen his former master in, what, three weeks? He wished to hear Obi-Wan say something annoying that pissed Anakin off, or give some absolutely useless advice, or tell Anakin that he was doing a good job. Actually, right now, Anakin would like to have almost anyone tell him he was doing a good job, because he himself wasn’t too sure he was.

But enough with the self-deprecation, he had a job to do. Like some old Jedi whose name he couldn’t remember had said:  _ “your approach is already worth half the task”  _ which, by the way, was not even half a lie but a complete lie.

Anakin sighed as he stopped his ship. What was he going to do?

As if by miracle, separatist ships came out of hyperspace, which was definitely not part of the plan. Anakin inhaled sharply, because he should’ve expected this. Nothing ever went his way. Luckily, Anakin was also very good at adapting to insane situations.

This was a good example of an insane situation. A separatist fleet attacking a Republic cruiser that held wounded clones heading back to Kamino to recover. It was painfully normal from Dooku to attack the weak and those unable to protect themselves, which fit the description of insane as well.

This was also a perfect example of Anakin making bad decisions knowingly, and sacrificing an entire mission for others, because instead of going elsewhere Anakin headed for the Republic cruiser. He had to help those onboard. (And, as he reasoned with himself, he still had to go to Kamino.)

“Damn, Obi-Wan would lecture me hard for this”, Anakin said quietly, concentration taking over his entire body. 

Fire was opened, and he saw fighters from the separatist fleet approach the cruiser. Anakin’s ship was not suitable for a spacefight, so he’d have to get on the cruiser. How, exactly, he would do that, was uncertain, but Anakin could figure that out on the move. He always could.

Dodging the fire with this piece of garbage and no Artoo would be quite a challenge. To his luck, no one had noticed him yet. He watched as fighters left the Republic cruiser. The explosions grew, and more and more was happening. That would be Anakin’s chance. If enough stuff was going on, he might be able to slip on the ship unnoticed and unbothered. That plan relied solely on luck, but Anakin could take it.

_ “You take what you’re given, Annie”  _ his mother used to say. Anakin had created his own (worse, he knew, but still oddly reassuring) version:  _ “When everything goes to hell and you have nothing left but ashes and a shit ton of stupid ideas, you take what you’re given, improvise, and that’s when the real fun begins” _ .

Anakin winced as one Republic fighter near him exploded. He wondered whether this cruiser contained something valuable to the Republic, since the separatists were so keen on destroying it. Of course Anakin thought of the wounded clones as valuable, but the Republic (and the separatist) didn’t, so maybe there was something else aboard. Anakin hadn’t really done a proper background check. Or maybe Dooku had the same plan as Anakin, though that still didn't explain why he'd attack the cruiser.

He was very close to the docking bay of the cruiser now. No one had targeted him yet, which was fantastic. Only Anakin suddenly realized he couldn’t just go into the docking bay, he’d have to do the same thing as he did a few years back with Obi-Wan, when they sneaked onto Grievous’s ship to save Padmé.

It felt weird to be back in such a familiar place again. Sneaking around the corridors of a Republic cruiser may not have been Anakin’s favourite hobby, but he had definitely done it before. Just… for different reasons.

The entire ship shook as it collided with something. Anakin leaned against the wall to keep his balance. He cursed out loud, and decided that he definitely should’ve turned around when he saw the separatists. Would he do it if he could go back in time? Probably not.

There was indeed a small, unfortunate chance of dying in this blasted ship with the poor clones. Anakin didn’t really like that, but he had made his decisions and this was the hand he had been dealt.

He didn’t get far before he ran into droids. So, the separatists had already invaded the ship. Perfect. Anakin took out his lightsaber without thinking. He then realized that he absolutely could not use it against the droids, because that would mean a Jedi had been on this ship. Anakin wasn’t sure if there were Jedi on the ship, and the risk was simply too high to be taken. Even if Anakin made it off this ship unnoticed, the droids would clearly have been destroyed by a lightsaber, and that would give him away. And Obi-Wan would definitely be the first one to declare that yes, this was definitely Anakin’s doing, no one else is capable of this, and that would blow up Anakin’s “plan”.

Assuming he made it off his ship.

Anakin jumped over the droids. He would probably be safe with deflecting the blaster bolts with his lightsaber, but he’d also like to have a weapon he could use. He hit the droid hard enough with his mechanical hand that he could snatch the blaster from its hands. Then, he just shot. Anakin was good with a blaster, he had always been. He, like any Jedi, preferred a lightsaber, but Anakin wasn’t like Obi-Wan, who strongly disliked blasters. Anakin thought they were fun.

After defeating the first wave of droids, Anakin turned around and ran. The ship shook violently again, and Anakin was starting to get nervous. He had to get to the bridge, or something. Anything, at this point.

He ran into the first alive being on the ship. A clone, with no armor at all. The clone was the only survivor in the corridor - he was surrounded with the dead bodies of his brothers. Anakin destroyed the rest of the droids in the hallway, before helping the clone up.

“You’re that… that missing Jedi? General Skywalker, right?” the clone stammered, his eyes wide open.

“That’s me”, Anakin said. 

“What are you doing here, sir? You’re... missing”, the clone asked with a frown.

“Officially. I’m missing officially”, Anakin responded, while searching his brain for any good cover story why he was here. “Uh, I’m actually on a mission. You know, a secret mission.”

Perfect. A perfect excuse. Anakin almost felt proud of himself.

The clone nodded slowly, but still looked confused. Anakin decided to go all in.

“I was supposed to be hiding until we were on Kamino. I have some business there. This whole operation was supposed to be top secret, you see. No one was supposed to see me, because that way the entire  _ Anakin Skywalker is missing  _ thing would lose its power. I’d really appreciate if you didn’t mention my existence. To… anyone. Like for real, anyone. This has gone wrong enough”, Anakin rambled, trying to seem a little more sure of himself than he was.

“Of course, sir”, the clone replied immediately, straightening himself.

“Great. Now, let’s get going, shall we?”

“Yes, sir.”

* * *

Anakin was losing his mind. This was not going well, not at all. It wouldn’t be the first time Anakin was in a life-threatening situation like this, and certainly not the last, but that didn’t stop him from panicking.

_ “Patience”, _ Obi-Wan would say, and Anakin would want to hit something. It was kind of weird, actually, because Anakin both loved and hated this. He could concentrate the best under pressure, but being under pressure also sucked, for it usually meant something very bad was going on. And his Force senses were all over the place.

Which couldn’t happen today. Anakin couldn’t afford giving away his location in the Force. He’d been hiding himself, painfully so, for those three long weeks, and he had to keep going for some time. Anakin didn’t like not being free in the Force, but this was necessary.

Shooting a few droids on his way, Anakin ran into the elevator while also supporting the clone by his shoulder.

“So, what’s your name?” he asked between breaths. “You know mine.”

“Red, sir”, Red replied, equally out of breath.

“Red, huh. That’s close to my captain. His name is Rex. He’s a good man.”

Yeah, indeed. When had Anakin last spoken with Rex? It had been at least a week or maybe even two. Anakin hadn’t really been counting. These past weeks had been hectic to say the least. Everything was in chaos. Anakin himself was a living chaos.

They arrived on the right floor. Anakin was even more unsure how he could pull this off successfully. He ran through the empty hallway towards the bridge. 

Being on the bridge didn’t cure his growing fear. Instead, he saw how gravelly he was actually screwed up by boarding. His view of the battle was beautiful and colourful. Unfortunately, that usually meant the battle was going badly.

“Damn, this is a mess”, Anakin said out loud.

“Second that, sir”, muttered Red grimly.

The bridge noticeably quieted when Anakin came in to sight. Gasps could be heard through the banging of explosions.

“Aren’t you -”

“I am well aware of my identity, trooper”, Anakin interrupted tersely. 

Back on Tatooine, his mother had told him that reusing was good, because the more you used the old the less you needed new. The Jedi had agreed on that - you should rather repair than throw away - so Anakin decided to reuse his excuse from earlier.

“Listen up, everyone. Most of you, if not all, know that I’m supposed to be missing, which I am, officially. Actually, I’m on an undercover mission, that requires me being… anonymous, more or less.” Anakin paused for a moment, as the shaking of the floor beneath him almost made him fall. “This means you all have to promise me to never mention me being here. I haven’t used my lightsaber, I haven’t used anything that might give me away. Security holos will be deleted - I’ll take care of that, after we’ve landed. Just - never mention me, okay? It has been necessary to keep most of the Jedi in the dark, only a few people close to me such as the men of the 501st know about this. You guys got it?”

That was probably closer to the truth than anything else, the 501st (most of them) did know something about Anakin’s whereabouts. Anakin watched as the clones shared quick glances.

“Yes, sir!”

“Good. I’ve never even been on this ship.”

“No, sir!”

“Amazing. If you keep the droids away from me, I’ll take care of the landing?”

“Yes, sir!”

Anakin nodded quickly before turning around and running to the piloting seat. He had quite a job ahead of him.

* * *

Sweat was dripping down Anakin’s face. The ship was falling apart. They were close to the planet already, but were they close enough? If it was under Anakin’s control, they absolutely were. Unfortunately, things were rarely under Anakin’s control.

“General?”

“ _ Yes? _ ” Anakin asked through gritted teeth, gaze locked on Kamino.

“Sir, we - we lost something.”

Anakin could feel it. It felt like a rip in his waist, which could only mean one thing. Indeed, they lost something.

“Not - not to worry. We’re still flying half a ship”, Anakin growled in reply. "Almost."

“Noted, sir", Red deadpanned calmly.

Clones, man. Anakin would’ve grinned at Red if they weren’t planning on landing on Kamino with this almost-half a ship. At least it would be raining on Kamino, that should help. Still not exactly ideal. Anakin hoped that the news of the miraculous landing wouldn’t reach Coruscant immediately, because that would alert Obi-Wan. Anakin’s former master would know that only Anakin would be insane enough to even attempt it. Dammit.

Mixing himself with the ship, Anakin roared. Not into the Force, because that would alert every Force-sensitive in the blasted galaxy, but out loud. It sounded pretty cool, Anakin thought as they flew - fell - through the clouds of Kamino. 

Anakin had been right, it was raining. Rather hard, to be exact. It likely did cool down the burning ship, but it made seeing things way harder. He cursed rather loudly along the way, and Red, who sat in the co-pilot seat, swore with him. In between that, Anakin screamed incomprehensible orders at Red and Red did… something. It probably wasn’t what Anakin asked, but it didn’t matter.

“We’re landing! We’re landing! We’re landing!” Anakin chanted, his voice barely audible under the roar of the poor, destroyed engines.

“Yes, sir!”

The ship collided with the landing platform with a loud crash. Anakin closed his eyes for a moment to collect himself, until the ship came to a full stop. It took him another moment to convince his body it was alright to move now, before he stood up on his wobbly legs.

“Well - that - was - a fucking - shitshow”, Anakin said between harsh breaths, articulating each word very clearly.

“Second that. Sir.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> that's it for this chapter, thank you for reading!
> 
> please notify me if there are any grammatical errors - English is not my first language - or if I have repeated something; this was written on the course of several days, so it's possible the same idea has occured to me... twice.
> 
> I have another, uh, two and almost-a-half chapters written, so no worries about that, yet. I don't have a clear vision of where this story is going with, y'know, how it will end, etc, but I have some kind of a blurry storyline so that problem should solve itself with time.
> 
> plotholes will appear at some point, definitely: if there's something that really bothers you, I'd like to know so I can possibly attempt to fix it :)
> 
> thanks for the comments & kudos, they really motivate me! :)


	4. Obi-Wan Kenobi / the big breakthrough

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another clue - a big one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes, hi, I'm on time, for once! enjoy another chapter :)
> 
> just to clear up: this chapter happens around at the same time as chapter 2 did

They had found nothing in the security recordings. Not a sign of Anakin Skywalker anywhere. Obi-Wan was starting to become hopeless. The excitement had lasted exactly five days - five days he’d spent in awe.

Now, he’d been assigned to the Chancellor’s case. The Council hadn’t taken any of his protesting (“but I already have a mission!”) and Yoda had told him that doing one last job for the Chancellor would be nice, considering he was close to Anakin, that Obi-Wan would do a “favour” by solving the case, because that’s what Anakin would’ve wanted. Maybe Obi-Wan could even find something that helped him with the Anakin-investigation.

Obi-Wan himself didn’t believe it for a second. Despite what Padmé and Ahsoka insisted, Obi-Wan couldn’t see any connection between Anakin’s disappearance and Palpatine’s death. He wished he could, though, because that’d mean he had something to believe in. Something that’d help him with Anakin.

He didn’t have a choice, though, which lead him to stumbling through the Coruscant streets a few meters behind Aayla and Kit, and grumbling under his breath. To say he was in a bad mood would be quite the understatement.

“So, we’re starting with… nothing?” he heard Aayla ask.

“Yeah. There’s literally nothing.”

“Why were we assigned to this case, again?” Obi-Wan jumped in. “I thought we already stated there’s nothing we can do without any tracks, and that we’re needed for the war. There’s so little things to investigate it was stated just six hours after the poor man was declared dead.”

Kit slowed his pace so he could walk with Obi-Wan. “We did, but the Senate wants us to investigate. It’s also been advised to not tell the truth about the war and how bad we’re doing; the Republic is in complete chaos, so we need to appear as strong as possible. And what is a better way to show we're going strong and really investing in this than putting the second-most-known Jedi on the case?”

“But you know this”, Aayla said, glancing at him over her shoulder. “You were present when we debated on it.”

“No, I wasn’t.”

She stopped in her tracks with a frown, before realization hit her. “Oh. I’m sorry. That’s right. Where were you, actually?”

“It’s irrelevant”, Obi-Wan sighed.

“Something new about Skywalker?” Kit asked, a small, knowing smile dancing on his lips.

This was the problem when you spoke with Jedi. Obi-Wan didn’t necessarily have a problem with it, but it sometimes caught him off-guard when others knew what he was thinking just as well as he knew what they were thinking.

“More or less. We suspect that he was in the temple when he was supposed to brief is battalion, but that he… turned around or something. The security recordings were all deleted. Erased.”

“Deleted?” Aayla wondered, turning to face him. “That’s… rather interesting. And alarming, I would say. Have you already informed the council? This is an important matter. Someone has been tampering with the Temple security.”

“Not yet, but I’m going to”, Obi-Wan assured her. He hadn’t thought of informing the council, but when you put it that way, it may be a good idea to tell them something.

They arrived on the crime scene. It wasn’t much. It had been surrounded by flashing signs saying that there was an investigation going on and that only police would be allowed to enter. Police, Obi-Wan thought to himself, is that what the Jedi are, nowadays?

In the office, there were a few officers standing around, looking lost. There was an area marked with bright yellow tape, which Obi-Wan realized was where the Chancellor had been. On the ground was a hologram of a gun, in the exact spot it had been yesterday.

That was all they had.

* * *

Obi-Wan wondered whether you could become addicted to sighing. He sure had done it a lot in one day. They had wasted an entire day and had found absolutely nothing. No signs of the possible murderer anywhere. None of the senators he’d interrogated had seen anything suspicious during the day, no one had any idea who the chancellor could’ve been meeting up with. Obi-Wan had a long list of suspects to go through - trusted friends of Palpatine’s, who could’ve very well had murdered him because of their political disagreements. Or then it could be that whoever Palpatine was supposed to meet simply hadn’t showed up and someone had coincidentally hired an assassin. Or maybe the meeting was false, a cover-up, and had nothing to do with the person Palpatine was supposed to meet, but had merely worked as an excuse to have the chancellor alone.

The possibilities were endless. 

“Did you notice anything odd about the chancellor during the past weeks? Or months? Or even days?” Obi-Wan found himself asking the other security guard that had been always by Palpatine’s side - except this once. A new idea popped into Obi-Wan’s head.

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Did he act weirdly before asking you to leave? Did he act weirdly  _ when _ he asked you to leave?”

The guard hesitated for a moment. “I- he was oddly… relaxed. Perhaps even relieved. He seemed very, very sure that he didn't need us in any way. He was almost annoyed when we wouldn’t leave instantly.”

Obi-Wan nodded slowly, before telling the guard he was free to leave.

“Anything?” Kit asked, hiding his frustration way better than Aayla did.

“No… except.” Obi-Wan frowned. “Have we considered the possibility the chancellor did it himself? The pose isn’t too weird, and the gun isn’t too far either. This just seems to be so well-organized.”

“I don’t think we have”, Kit said thoughtfully “The job of a chancellor is incredibly stressful. And he did lose a close friend quite recently…”

“This may very well tie in with the Skywalker investigation”, Aayla offered. “Maybe his officers found out the same as you, and he realized something.”

“Something that could’ve thrown him off so badly? I doubt it.” Obi-Wan shook his head. “Besides, if Palpatine’s officers had known anything, Ahsoka would’ve known. They may not have to tell the Jedi everything, but Ahsoka is the lead investigator.”

“Still, your suggestion seems quite valid”, Kit spoke. “Things weren’t looking too great, and his workload was quite something.”

“Wait”, Obi-Wan said and once again, sighed. “There were no fingerprints on the gun. The Chancellor was bare-handed, and as far as I know there weren't any gloves found near.”

And so the Jedi were forced to leave empty-handed.

* * *

Obi-Wan had talked to the council. They had all found it rather concerning that the security recordings had been wiped, but they still prioritized the Chancellor’s case above Anakin’s.

Obi-Wan was tired, and collapsed in his chair. He could barely remember not being tired. At least he wasn’t hungry. 

An idea crossed his mind. He hadn’t yet told Rex about the new discovery of the lack of security recordings. Maybe he should? After all, Rex had expressed worry towards Anakin a few days ago.

Obi-Wan decided that yes, he should go do that, and pushed himself back on his feet. He suddenly realized that Rex might not be on Coruscant at all; Rex might be somewhere on a random planet fighting the war. Obi-Wan commed Ahsoka, who was more in contact with Rex than he himself.

“Tano speaking, hi.”

“Ahsoka. I’m just wondering, do you know about Rex’s whereabouts?”

“Oh, uh. If I’m not entirely wrong - I haven’t been in contact with him lately -, they’ve been working as extra security here on Coruscant since… y’know, the Chancellor died.”

“Oh. That does… indeed make sense.”

“Yeah. Why?”

“I’d like to update him on Anakin’s case.”

“Of course, yeah. Why didn’t I think of that?”

Obi-Wan smiled. “Well, I’ll get it done.”

* * *

“Captain Rex?”

“General Kenobi?” Rex turned around, surprise written all over his face. “Not that you’re welcome - but it’s certainly a surprise seeing you here.

“I have some news about Anakin.”

Rex straightened immediately. “What kind of?”

“Nothing too big, I’m afraid, but it’s something.” Obi-Wan inhaled deeply. “The security recordings from the Temple hallways have been erased. From every hallway around the room.”

“Sir? I’m not sure I understand? You’re saying there are no existing security recordings of the entire place?”

“Well, there are, but none of the hallways or exits near the briefing room. It’s likely Anakin has been at the temple that day. Someone has just deleted all evidence of it. Perhaps he even met someone. Everything is possible, at this point.”

“Woah. That’s… something, indeed”, Rex said. “Am I allowed to tell the boys? They’d be excited that something new was found. We’ve been slightly down, recently.”

“Go ahead. I know everyone has been questioned already, but please ask them again if anyone has seen literally anything even slightly odd.”

“Yes, sir.” For a couple of seconds, Rex seemed to hesitate. “Oh, also, the general once recommended a certain place with good food: Dex’s diner. I have to admit, it has very good food to offer at a fair price. He told me to thank you, sir.”

Indeed, Dex’s diner. Obi-Wan had completely forgotten about its existence. Perhaps he should pay Dexter a visit? Last time Obi-Wan had asked him for help, he’d solved a major case. Maybe Dexter could help him again, maybe he had heard something? It was worth a try.

“It is quite the place, yes”, Obi-Wan agreed with a thoughtful look on his face. “Greetings from Ahsoka, by the way.”

“Thanks. Do some back, please.”

Before Obi-Wan could reply, Rex’s comm went off.

“Captain Rex, your presence is required. There’s been an attack on Kamino - it’s still going on, as far as we know - and the 501st has been assigned to go there and calm things down. Immediately.” 

* * *

“Tano.”

“Hello again, Ahsoka. Are you interested in grabbing some lunch with me?”

“Oh, now you’re interested in eating and other things your life depends on? I’m not buying it. What’s up, Obi-Wan?”

“We’re going to Dex’s. He knows a lot about things around - I’m sure Anakin has mentioned him to you or possibly even taken you there. It might be he knows of nothing, but the chance exists he has some information we don’t.”

* * *

“So, how was Rex?”

“He was just called away, to Kamino”, Obi-Wan answered tiredly. “It’s under attack, and apparently still going on.”

“Again?” Ahsoka asked, eyes wide.

“Again.”

Ahsoka looked away, and sighed. “Doesn’t look like this war is ever going to end, does it.”

A while ago Obi-Wan would’ve said something supportive, but now? After Anakin was gone and Palpatine dead? He wasn’t so sure anymore. About anything. He felt a little… hopeless. Lost.

“No, it doesn’t.”

“D’you think we’d be here if Skyguy hadn’t disappeared?"

Obi-Wan didn’t comment on Anakin’s nickname. “I’m not sure, but I do know there’s no point in dwelling on what-ifs. We have to find Anakin, and find out.”

He opened the door for Ahsoka, and the two of them walked in.

Dex noticed them instantly. “Obi-Wan! What a nice surprise! And you brought a friend, too!”

“Hello there, Dex”, Obi-Wan greeted and attempted a smile. “I’d like to have the usual.”

“Ah, yes: the Kenobi special, food with some information. Absolutely, my dear friend, coming.”

“He’s a great guy”, Ahsoka commented as they sat down.

“Indeed.”

“You said Rex came here?”

“Yes?”

“I wonder how he reacted. Dexter is, after all, a Besalisk.”

“Oh, you’re referring to the general Krell situation. I didn’t think about that.”

“Here we go, here we go”, Dex announced and laid two plates full with food in front of them. “Now, I believe is time for the information, right?”

“You could say that. Do you happen to know anything about my dear friend, Anakin Skywalker?”

“Just what I expected”, Dex replied and clasped his hands together. “I don’t know much, but I have something for you.”

“Something for me?”

“Yeah, some shady guy came by and gave me some astromech droid - that I understood belongs to this friend of yours - and told me to give it to you the next time you came to visit.”

“You’ve got Artoo?” Ahsoka exclaimed, jumping on her feet. “Where is he?”

“Bind your banthas, ma’am”, Dexter said. “Follow me, will ya? Feel free to take your food with ya.”

Obi-Wan’s feet felt stiff. Did Dexter actually have Artoo? Could it be? If Artoo really was here, Obi-Wan would likely get to know much more about Anakin - Anakin was very attached to his droid. Obi-Wan remembered fondly (and with a touch of terror) how Anakin had always insisted on saving the droid no matter what, and how Anakin had refused to wipe its mind.

Ahsoka, on the other hand, seemed rather restless. She looked like she could run through Coruscant  _ twice  _ with no problems. She was wordlessly urging Dexter to walk faster.

They reached some uncomfortably small room behind the kitchen. It was, indeed, Artoo in the corner. The droid beeped cheerily upon seeing them.

“Artoo!” Ahsoka yelped and practically ran to the astromech.

“I’ll leave you lot alone”, Dex said behind Obi-Wan. “‘s probably not for my ears anyway.”

“Thank you”, Obi-Wan replied genuinely, although he, too, was itching to hear what Artoo could tell them.

After Dex had left and the door behind them was closed, Obi-Wan dropped to one knee in front of Artoo.

“Hey, it’s been a while, huh?” he greeted awkwardly. 

Artoo made a series of happy noises - at least that’s what Obi-Wan thought they were. He couldn’t be sure.

“I suppose you know something about Anakin, right?”

Approving, eager beeps. Good.

“Do you happen to have a message from him, or something? A location, perhaps?”

Another positive beep, and although Obi-Wan didn’t know whether it was answering one of his questions or all of them, he was excited. 

“Can you show us?”

The third answer was also affirmative, and then a blue light shone from Artoo. A hologram.

_ “It’s going? Yes? Hi, hello”, said Anakin’s voice. “Damn, this is more awkward than I thought it would be.” _

_ Anakin was in a crouched position. It was hard to tell much from the recording, but he seemed physically fine. Even in the blue recording the bags under Anakin’s eyes were clear, but they had been there for a year or two already.  _

_ “Okay. I’m assuming it’s you watching this, Obi-Wan. If anyone’s gonna watch this, anyway. There’s a fat chance I’ll be back before anyone notices I’m gone and then this recording is useless. Anyway, back to the topic at hand. Obi-Wan. It’s likely been a while - ah, a couple of days - since the last time I saw you, and believe me, that doesn’t make me particularly happy. There’s just been a lot going on. I, uh, found something rather interesting, and I really need to check this out. It’s like with the dreams of my mother, remember? This is about the same thing. This shouldn’t take too long anyway, I’ll be back in a, uh. I don’t actually know. This should take a week, at its best. Then I’ll be back and explain everything properly, and -” _

_ Anakin’s voice cut off by a crash, and he turned around sharply, eyes wildly searching his surroundings. Apparently, Anakin found nothing and he turned back. _

_ “- yeah. I’m sorry it’s happening like this, okay? I just don’t, at the moment, see any other possible way of action. You see, the last time didn’t go too well.” _

_ A small smile appeared on Anakin’s face. Then he shook his head, and let out a small chuckle. _

_ “Okay, this turned out to be way too dramatic. Consider this a temporary leave. Of one week, at most. I won’t be doing any action, so when I return and all is cleared up I’ll be back in action the second I’m needed. Or allowed. I haven’t got an idea what the Council will say, so sorry for that one. If you’re gonna have to tell the Council something - this is worth it, folks. I’ll explain it to you afterwards. Whatever I find out will be important. But hey, you’re not responsible for me anymore, so you don’t have to make up any excuses. One week, then I’ll be back. Thank you, sorry, see you.” _

Obi-Wan grimaced. Anakin had assumed that by the time he found this Anakin had only been gone for a couple of days, which meant Obi-Wan was really behind on his schedule. This wasn’t very good.

“Artoo, when was this recorded?”

The date of the file popped up in blue letters: it was almost three weeks ago. A day or two after Obi-Wan had noticed Anakin’s absence. A day or two before the Jedi started looking for him. A week before the Council announced him officially missing.

“He said it would only be a week”, Ahsoka whispered hoarsely. “He said he was gonna come back soon.”

Obi-Wan nodded. “Something has evidently prevented him.”

“Obviously.” Ahsoka was quiet. “Do you think Anakin had something to do with the Chancellor’s murder?”

Obi-Wan choked on oxygen. “Excuse me, but -”

“Not like that, but if he found out someone was plotting it?”

That actually made sense. Anakin had mentioned his nightmares about his mother - maybe these nightmares were now about Palpatine, who had been very close with Anakin? It was a lot of assumptions, but it did add up in the end.

It also meant that Anakin had failed to either find out the full plot, or then he had been… stopped by someone. Possibly by Dooku and the CIS, who were possibly behind the murder. Which would lead them… where? 

“Artoo, what’s the location of this recording?”

Artoo gave him the exact coordinates. It had been recorded on the lower levels of Coruscant. Close to where Anakin had been seen for the last time. But how close?

Like she had read Obi-Wan’s mind, Ahsoka quickly said: “Five days before they saw Anakin.”

What had happened in those five days?

“Was this the last time you saw him, Artoo?"

The droid replied with a quiet, sad, vague beep. Obi-Wan rubbed his forehead. He was not prepared for this.

“He just left you here? Did he say anything? About where he was going?”

Another blue holo recording flickered to life.

_ Anakin was standing back turned to Artoo, his face covered. _

_ “Yeah, Dex’s. Tell him to only show this to Obi-Wan and Obi-Wan’s friends or whatever. Hide there. Do not let anyone, anyone get close to you except for them? I know it may become a long, boring while, but please.” _

_ Artoo’s concerned beeps could be heard. _

_ “Of course I’ll be fine. Would be a lot nicer with you, though. Come on, buddy, I won’t be long. I promise. I’ll see you soon.” _

“And this was when?” Obi-Wan asked urgently.

Again, the date flickered in blue.

“A day before he was seen”, Ahsoka said, quietly.

Obi-Wan turned to look at her. She seemed shocked and everything Obi-Wan himself was feeling. Obi-Wan felt determination grow stronger in him, though. They would have a lot of work to do after today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and thank you for reading! 
> 
> so, I've had a bit of a... pause with writing this (nervous laughter) but I still have on chapter ready and another on the way, so, um, yes.
> 
> we'll see how this works out!
> 
> (I've got another story idea on the way, but I have to work with it for a while)


	5. Anakin / stumbling through, but through anyways

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anakin gets to do stuff. And he swears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi! welcome to another chapter!
> 
> this chapter is happening ---almost--- at the same time as chapter four, but obviously not quite.

The ship was wreck. Running around in a destroyed ship full of smoke and fire hazards was likely not a good idea, but it was necessary. (Many things in Anakin’s life were bad ideas, but necessary.)

Red had insisted on following Anakin to the security recording room. Anakin wasn’t entirely sure why - maybe the man wanted to pay Anakin back in some way, after Anakin had saved his life, or perhaps he wanted to have something to do before his long recovery on Kamino. Not that Anakin complained - it was nice having someone to talk to. It had been a while since the last time Anakin had had proper contact with living beings. 

As they reached their destination, Anakin had to stop so he could catch his breath. Controlling an entire ship was surprisingly exhausting, and Anakin found himself longing for the bed in Padmé’s apartment. He could take his own bed in the Jedi Temple as well - any bed.

But Anakin wouldn’t get a chance to rest anytime soon. He was starting to realize that not sleeping was affecting his decision making, but it wasn’t something Anakin could just  _ do.  _ He either got sleep, or he didn't. Most nights Anakin’s head was just full of  _ thoughts _ , it was too loud, it was too… active for him to sleep. Other nights he was filled with awful images of the past. Some nights he saw what-if’s of the future, influenced by his memories.

Then there were the nights when Anakin was too alone, too empty. When he couldn’t stop thinking about how cold the space was and how utterly alone he was in all this. How alone he’d been for years. How alone he would be.

In the long run, it didn’t matter. As long as he kept on functioning almost normally, nothing mattered.

Wordlessly, Red pushed past him and started doing the cleanup. Anakin joined him. Neither of them spoke, and Anakin wondered whether Red doubted if he was doing the right thing. It was probably weird to have Anakin just conveniently pop up. It was probably even weirder for him to have the recordings deleted, but whatever. 

It was quickly done with the two of them. Anakin didn’t bother to double-check they had done the job perfectly; the smoke was starting to make its way into this room as well, and Anakin preferred not collapsing from breathing in too much smoke. Without saying anything, he nodded to Red and they left.

Anakin hesitated as they came closer to the exit ramp. Red seemed to notice.

“Oh, yeah. You should leave without them seeing, sir?”

“That would be… nice, yes.” 

“Where do you need to go?”

“Inside, for starters -”

An explosion shook the ship. Anakin frowned. Was Kamino under attack? Had they been followed  _ to the ground _ ?

“No -” Red begun, sprinting towards the exit. 

Anakin followed, hoping everyone would be too distracted by the explosion - and the possible attack - to notice the missing Jedi slip out of the ship. He really was relying on luck way too much.

Red had stopped just outside the ship. Anakin came to stand next to him, and grimaced. A full on war was going on here, on Kamino. Anakin could forget getting his information now. Another thought entered his mind - how did he not notice this? Was he really so exhausted?

“D’you happen to know where exactly I can find clone armour?” Anakin asked. “I want to help, but I need a disguise.”

Red snapped out of whatever trance he was in. “Y-yeah. Let’s go.”

Anakin pulled on his hood, knowing very well it could never be enough cover. He should find some civilian clothes soon. The dirty Jedi tunics he was still wearing weren’t ideal for hiding his identity.

He hid behind a piece of metal (possibly a part of the still-smoking cruiser) as Red ran to someone near another building - which, Anakin understood was a warehouse.

“Hey, you! Where can I get some basic armor?”

The other trooper stared back for a moment, and Anakin thought, if just for a moment, that he was going to tell Red he couldn’t participate because he was injured - but he didn’t. 

“Go left from your first opportunity, and take the elevator to the floor -2. There should be weapons too.”

“Thanks”, Red said and ran. 

Anakin followed, as stealthily as he could. He internally cursed at the fact that there would definitely be security recordings of him now. Well, that would be a problem he’d have to deal with later. Now, he had Dooku to worry about.

Actually, Anakin wasn’t sure what Dooku attacking Kamino meant. Maybe Dooku was unaware of the power he possibly had? Or maybe he was after the same thing as Anakin? If that was so, Anakin was in a really big hurry. Like, a colossal hurry. He’d have to find out about the clones before Dooku could, no matter what. The stakes were high.

He hit the elevator’s buttons a little too hard, but at least the thing worked. Anakin knew he couldn’t count on Artoo saving him this time, he’d have to do everything himself.

Putting on clone armour felt stupid, and in the end it  _ was _ stupid, because Anakin was very clearly taller than any of the clones. At least the armor fit him. It was hard to put on the parts covering his mechanical hand, but with a few curse words and a lot of strength it was done. It wasn’t perfect, but maybe, just maybe no one would notice anything in the midst of the battle. Anakin would just have to be… careful. Yes. Careful. (Hadn’t he just earlier dropped being careful? Damn, he never stuck with his plans, did he.)

Red was completely mute the entire time, and Anakin didn’t need an incredibly high midichlorian count to tell Red was very on the edge, which was understandable. Anakin himself wasn’t particularly happy with the turn of events.

When the elevator reached the first floor again, they both sprinted into the battle. Anakin didn’t bother to hide his skill. Surely no one could tell he was a Jedi, right? Most of the clones had very good aim. Even if Anakin had, well, spectacularly good aim, no one would really pay attention, right?

Relying on luck was truly becoming his expertise. 

It had been a while since Anakin was in a real fight. He’d stayed out of trouble for an incredibly long time. It may be considered unhealthy, how he relaxed when fighting and panicked when he didn’t but Anakin did many things backwards. It was his style.

Outside, he knew that no one would pay attention. The weather was absolutely horrific, rain pouring down hard and lightnings flashing in the skies every other second. As a kid, Anakin would’ve found it amazing, and even now he found it beautiful, but he had to fight now. Anakin fell in a flow-mode, and his sense of time disappeared. Anakin was completely concentrated on fighting (and  _ not _ using the Force), until he noticed a green lightsaber and the Jedi wielding it.

It was none other than Luminara Unduli. Anakin hadn’t seen her since… well, the Barriss situation, and those circumstances weren’t very ideal. He was surprised Luminara was back on duty so fast. It had been a massive blow to Anakin when Ahsoka left, but Luminara’s situation was different. Her padawan had straight off bombed the Jedi temple, framed a fellow, innocent padawan and held a speech that sounded like she was already a Sith apprentice. Anakin had been a padawan at the same time as Barriss, and he remembered a certain mission to Ansion with her. How exactly had Luminara bounced back from a shock this great so fast?

Maybe she was just always “prepared to let go”, Anakin thought bitterly. No wonder Barriss was so angry; Anakin would be, too, if Obi-Wan hadn’t given a shit about his life. Not that he’d bomb the Jedi Temple for it. Anakin would’ve probably just stuck with the Order because that was the best way of helping in the war, after all, that was one of the the main reasons why Anakin was still a Jedi. Or maybe he would’ve left and joined the military. Who knew.

But now Anakin needed to concentrate on staying away from Luminara. Maybe there were more Jedi here. Maybe they even sent Obi-Wan here -

Anakin internally cursed for getting his hopes up. It was unlikely Obi-Wan would show up, but there was always a chance. It would cause problems, but Anakin missed his best friend very much. 

“Sir, look out -”

Anakin ducked instantly, and cursed some more. He’d let his guard down, if it was only for a couple of seconds. At least he wasn’t hit - but still, close enough.

“Oh shit”, Anakin said out loud, when he noticed a red lightsaber. 

So Dooku  _ was _ here, after all. Anakin knew he’d have to go after him. Anakin’s lightsaber was pressed against his body inside the armor (not the safest way of carrying a lightsaber) and it would take some effort to get it out.

It would probably be a good idea to start immediately. Anakin retreated, hiding behind another smoking piece of the damn cruiser, and reached inside his armor, behind the chest plates. Taking his lightsaber in his left hand, he counted in five before rejoining the battle. He caught sight of Dooku and Luminara dueling. Not that Anakin didn’t trust the fellow Jedi, but he had a bad feeling the duel was going to end in Dooku’s favour.

He couldn’t interfere here, though, so he bit his tongue and kept on observing. With some luck, Luminara could defend herself long enough for them to get inside the building. Anakin might be able to do something there.

Anakin tried to get aim, but they were obviously moving way too fast. If luck was still on his side, he might get a good shot at Dooku, but that would require usage of the Force, which was practically the equivalent of just shouting “I’M HERE” to Dooku and Luminara.

Could that throw them off-balance, though? Him actually shouting something? He blended in nicely with the clones, so visually recognizing him was quite the task. No doubt they would recognize his voice, though. His Force presence was carefully hidden, so neither could catch that, either.

That was both a bad and a very likely unsuccessfull idea, so Anakin just shook his head to himself and moved closer to the duelling pair. He was just a couple of meters away now. Through the intensifying rain, he watched in horror as Luminara lost her lightsaber. 

Anakin couldn’t let a fellow Jedi just get killed like that. He lunged forward, and pushed Luminara from the path of the merciless, red lightsaber. Anakin caught Dooku’s wrist in his mechanical hand, and he squeezed as hard as he could. He wasn’t sure whether he managed to break his wrist or not, but Dooku’s face twisted in pain. The burning ‘saber of Dooku was still uncomfortably close to Anakin’s face that was hiding behind the helmet. 

Dooku called Luminara’s lightsaber in his free hand. Anakin released his wrist and rolled out of the way. He needed to make a run for it. Praying that Dooku hadn’t noticed Anakin’s free and flesh hand that was gripping his lightsaber, Anakin jumped on his feet and ran. Dooku was probably suspecting something; normal clones wouldn’t be able to pull of something like that.

Where would Dooku go first? Anakin hoped Luminara was alright, so he would have more time to form a plan. He put the lightsaber on his belt, covering it with the piece of tunic he had ripped exactly for this purpose.

If Dooku was after what Anakin thought he was after, he’d probably go to the Kaminoans. Which one of them? Anakin himself hadn’t planned on meeting any Kaminoans, so he hadn’t looked in where in this maze they were located.

Like a miracle, he noticed a familiar trooper in the corridor. Actually, two familiar troopers.

“Kix! Echo!” Anakin shouted without thinking.

Echo lifted his head from the ground, and Kix turned around.

“General?”

Anakin simply nodded before kneeling next to them. Relief was washing over him; the 501st was here. It was going to be fine.

“Sir, are you alright?” Echo coughed.

The guy was laying on the floor on his back, bleeding from his side and face, with likely broken ribs, but damn, he still asked Anakin if he was good. Typical.

“Better than you”, Anakin replied drily. ”Although worse now that I know Dooku’s here. That’s… a problem.”

“Indeed”, Kix muttered. “I didn’t think he -”   


“Me neither, but here we are. Is Rex near?”

“He went after Dooku, sir.”

“He did… what?”

“Dooku came in from there”, Kix explained and pointed at a broken window. “As you yourself said, we have too much to lose here. Rex went after him.”

“Fucking shit”, Anakin summarized his thoughts. “I think that’s my cue. Hang in there, both of you.”   


He got up and ran as fast as he could. He didn’t have Vos’s psychometry, per se, but the perks of being the Chosen One included great instincts. He just knew where to go. Sometimes. Other times he was just as lost as everyone else. 

Then there were the times when being the supposedly most powerful Force-user was a burden. For example when they were on that weird Outer Rim planet a couple of years ago, everyone else had known their way  _ except  _ Anakin. Anakin had been feeling disoriented and sick the whole time they were there. Obi-Wan had tried to explain that it was because Anakin was abnormally strong in the Force and when he suddenly couldn’t access to it like he usually could there would be serious effects, similar to when drug addicts didn’t get their drugs.

(That was definitely not the example Obi-Wan used, but it was how Anakin understood it.)

He caught sight of Dooku rather fast. The Sith was just raising his lightsaber to strike down Rex - thank the Force for Anakin always conveniently being on time - when Anakin appeared. He kicked the Sith on the wrist (Anakin noticed Dooku was using his other hand now, maybe he had succeeded in breaking his wrist, after all) making the man lose his lightsaber. Then he lunged at him.

Anakin didn’t remember ever fighting Dooku in a fistfight. Anakin would obviously have the advantage here - Dooku was, after all, an elderly gentleman, likely not able to win in an actual fistfight. Anakin doubted Dooku had ever even learned to fight like this, for he would likely consider himself above such barbaric methods.

Anakin punched Dooku in the face, like he’d always wanted to. He even got a satisfying crack, meaning he broke Dooku’s nose. 

Dooku never played fairly, though. Anakin got the good old Force choke-treatment. It was time to stop playing. Anakin was close to grabbing his lightsaber, but then he saw Rex getting up with Dooku’s lightsaber.

Perhaps he didn’t have to reveal his identity just yet. Well, assuming Dooku still hadn’t figured it out.

Anakin grimaced as Rex swung the red lightsaber at Dooku. When this was over, he’d have to teach the 501st men how to properly wield a lightsaber. Just in case.

Dooku simply took one step backwards, with an arrogant smirk on his lips. The effect was slightly dimmed by the fact that his nose was crooked and there was blood streaming down his face. 

Anakin decided to speed things up a little, and took the lightsaber from a disorientated and swaying Rex. He swung the thing firmly at Dooku, and watched as the man realized he had earned a new problem. Dooku used his trademark blue lightning, but Anakin was ready and caught it with the red blade.

If Dooku hadn’t had any doubts so far, he absolutely did have now. Anakin bit his lip underneath the helmet. He was dancing on a  _ very _ thin edge, wasn’t he? 

“Well, well, congratulations, trooper”, Dooku said calmly, and Anakin felt a Bad Feeling beginning to grow in his stomach. “You’ve shown quite an amount of skill today.”

Anakin remained quiet. Rex had collapsed on the ground. Anakin moved so he was between Dooku and Rex, so the Sith couldn’t pull any “would you rather do x or save y” cards, in case Dooku had figured out that it was Anakin he was fighting. Anakin was awfully bad at dealing with them.

“You’ve got one challenge to answer yet”, Dooku continued, and Anakin knew instantly what he was going to do.

Dooku was going to try to snatch his lightsaber off his belt. Anakin pushed Dooku against the wall with the Force as hard as he could while taking his still-covered lightsaber in his hand without igniting it. Of course Dooku had recognized its shape despite his not-so perfect disguise. The disguise had thankfully hid the ‘saber itself and its design. That way Dooku couldn’t see whose it was.

“Undercover Jedi, then”, Dooku mused as he stood up, his smirk expanding. “You can reveal yourself now.”

_ No, I don’t think I will,  _ Anakin thought, and attacked Dooku again. He was careful to not use his normal duelling strategy, because that would be an immediate giveaway. It was really weird though. He found himself imitating Obi-Wan, which might not have been the best way he'd chosen. Anakin still had a good chance of winning, though - although he hid it well, Dooku seemed disoriented after being thrown into a wall. Anyone would seem a little disoriented when fighting against someone with a lightsaber without anything but the Force. That required an insane amount of concentration.

Anakin had one hell of a job in hiding his own presence. He’d gotten a lot of comments about being loud and  _ big _ in the Force during his time in the Temple, but now he was much better in hiding. Using the Force and still keeping his identity hidden was… a lot, yes, but manageable.

Dooku was without a weapon. Anakin had two (even though he only used one), so it was clear what the outcome would be. Dooku backed away, knowing this was a fight he could not win. Anakin hoped there would be enough Republic forces now to overpower the last bits of the droid army.

Anakin followed Dooku far enough to make sure he was actually retreating and not trying to trick him before turning back to check on Rex. The captain had a few nasty lightsaber wounds, but nothing serious. He’d presumably received a hit on the head, though. 

“Captain Rex?” Anakin asked quietly after checking there was no one else around.

Rex groaned before opening his eyes.

“Are you alright?” Anakin questioned worriedly.

“Yes - yes, sir. What… general Skywalker?” Rex asked confusedly.

“That would be me, yes.”

“Have you -”   


“Not yet. As you know, there have been… complications.”

Rex nodded, and sat up better. He took his helmet off and wiped sweat off his face, and Anakin smiled, forgetting that Rex couldn’t see past his loaned helmet.

“Well then, sir, I guess we have a job to do.”

Definitely. Anakin's tame smile changed into his trademark grin. Yeah, of course they had a job to do. Anakin wasn't sure how long he could stay on his feet, but life didn't care about your wellbeing. At least he was with someone he knew now, with a well-trusted friend. It calmed Anakin's internal panicking for a moment.

“Agreed. Best we get going, right?”

Rex grinned. “Yes, sir.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah, that was some action. I wouldn't say writing action is my expertice, no.
> 
> ...but hey, I'm on schedule, with both writing and posting, that's something, I guess - I finished chapter 6 yesterday, and I'm already halfway through 7.
> 
> first off - I know basically nothing about Kamino, sorry about that haha
> 
> secondly, this is the chapter (one of the chapters) that the "That's... probably not how the Force works"-tag applies to, I hope it doesn't bother too much.
> 
> third thing: I'm not sure how identifying one through the Force works... surely you can use the Force without others knowing who you are? does that require something? I don't know, so I created my own rules lmao 
> 
> anyway, finishing off with saying that this fic is just for fun, so I'm not taking it too seriously with fact accuracy - I do have Wookieepedia open, though.
> 
> thanks for reading!


	6. Ahsoka Tano / identity crisis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ahsoka goes through stuff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> barely on time, and I'm not exactly on writing schedule, either, but here we go anyway lol

Things were getting more and more complicated, and Ahsoka was getting more and more confused. Two and a half weeks ago she’d called Obi-Wan only to hear that, no, this was  _ not  _ another cruel undercover mission, Anakin was actually missing. And then the real rollercoaster begun.

She’d already been looking for a job and, well, something meaningful she could do now that her time as a Jedi was over. Ahsoka didn’t really miss the war, but she did sort of miss action. She’d been living on Coruscant since she left the order, unsure of where to go. She had stayed here because she wanted to help Obi-Wan.

Doing so, she found herself a job. Ahsoka found out that she’d make a good police. She was good at negotiating and her combat skills were, obviously, Jedi level. At first, she faced the problem that was her age - she was very young to be a police officer - but after she had patiently explained her past as a Jedi she had gotten what she wanted. Ahsoka Tano was now part of the Coruscant police, and on top of that, she was on of the leaders of the special forces that took care of the hardest and most extreme missions. She no longer had a lightsaber as a weapon, but a gun. It didn’t bother her - it made her feel included.

However, she’d asked if she could work on Anakin’s case as a “side mission”. She’d told her bosses about how she could easily handle two jobs at the same time - she was a  _ Jedi _ , of course she could - and then, like a miracle, the  _ Chancellor himself  _ had requested that Ahsoka was included in the investigation. 

It felt both incredible that the man trusted Ahsoka so much and pressuring - during Ahsoka’s apprenticeship, it had become very clear that Anakin and the Chancellor were close. That he wanted Ahsoka to be the leader of the investigation felt massive, and Ahsoka had been panicking a lot during her first days.

She’d gotten an apartment, too - a shared apartment. Anakin had once told her that “being alone sucks, okay? Always try to have someone with you on your way, it keeps you sane”, and she had decided to follow this advice. Now, she lived with four other young teens trying to find their way in life. It was great, having friends that Ahsoka could vent to and just chat with, but sometimes she felt very alone with them. After all, she had grown up as a Jedi, and she had the Force, and damn, she’d fought in a war. It was almost scary how different their lives were, and… sad.

Her friends had gotten their first crushes, their first heartbreaks, partied a ton, gotten so drunk they had tried to do the dishes in the shower, wasted their money on sweets and chips, been on vacation to Naboo and spent a lot of time just wandering around Coruscant. Meanwhile, Ahsoka had been… sent into a war. She’d put her life on a line, put other’s lives on the line, had people  _ die _ because she made the wrong choice, watched as her friends died, watched how the war affected everyone. She’d been sent to a mission disguised as a  _ slave _ , even. (Not to mention that her only  _ five _ years older mentor with a past with slavery had been forced to act as a slaver and her  _ owner _ .)

Barriss had had a point. She’d expressed it and acted in a very, very wrong, unforgivable way, but her point was valid. And, of course, Barriss Offee could be added to the list of awful things that had happened in Ahsoka’s life. Her friend who she had fought with had bombed the Jedi Temple and framed Ahsoka, who had been only seconds away from getting the death penalty or life in prison or whatever before her  _ once again  _ only five years older mentor had come in and saved her skin.

It was a little twisted that only Anakin had really done something to save her - he’d ran through Coruscant, efficiently interrogated Ventress, one of the most wanted criminals, figured the entire plot out, gotten the truth out of Barriss, dueled her and finally even gotten the confession. Ahsoka would be forever grateful for it, but it wasn’t enough to make her stay. Nothing would’ve been enough to make her stay after that shitshow.

And here she was now, having an existential crisis. Not only was her (former) mentor still missing, Ahsoka was slowly starting to realize what she had missed, as a Jedi. It hit her at random days, in the middle of the night, but usually she managed to avoid it.

Her friends found her life really interesting, and everytime she was up to it they’d ask questions. One of them had even politely asked her if it was ok to use her and her stories as examples and sources of a Jedi in his essay about the Clone Wars. Ahsoka had gladly helped, of course.

Now, she was walking on the streets of Coruscant towards the apartment of Padmé Amidala, with Obi-Wan Kenobi trailing close behind. The afternoon had taken a wild turn. 

They’d decided that leaving Artoo at Dex’s was probably the safest solution, so despite the protesting astromechanic they had simply left Artoo there. They had copied the message, though, so they could show it to Padmé. Padmé, who Ahsoka was supposed to call.

She answered… surprisingly quickly. “Padmé Amidala.”

“We got news on Anakin - we’ve not found him or anything, but this is interesting”, Ahsoka said right away, because unlike the Jedi she liked going straight to the damn point. “We’re coming over, if that’s alright?”

“Yes - yes, of course. I’m - yes.” 

“Great, see you in a few.”

* * *

“Ahsoka, come in, come in… Obi-Wan, too? Please, come in…” Padmé welcomed rather hastily.

Ahsoka could understand, though. Padmé was worried sick for Anakin, and the past few days hadn’t been exactly relaxing. Ahsoka was worried for her - life was getting more and more intense each day;  _ ”the plot is thickening” _ , Anakin would probably say.

That was right, too. Without the chancellor the Republic was a mess. Ahsoka hadn’t really followed the news or concentrated when Obi-Wan or her superiors tried to explain the situation to her (most of her free time she concentrated on laying in bed and staring at the ceiling) so she wasn’t entirely sure what was going on… anywhere, but it wasn’t good. 

She’d had a lot of work in the streets of Coruscant, controlling crowds and protestors. Ahsoka hadn’t really caught on  _ what _ they were protesting against, though. Maybe they didn’t know themselves. Everyone just wanted to do something.

“Sit down, please”, Padmé said, but her eyes held a urgent look, and Ahsoka knew she was very close to just interrogating them. “So, you said..?”

“Uh-huh. It’s a recording. From Artoo. We found him at a friend of Obi-Wan’s… and Anakin’s, I guess”, Ahsoka explained. “You know what? I’ll just show you.”

Ahsoka put on the recording. Padmé seemed to be pulled away from the world when Anakin’s image appeared. She seemed to be capturing everything she could see of him; after all, Padmé hadn’t seen Anakin in weeks. Ahsoka felt a sharp pang in her chest. She shared a sad look with Obi-Wan. Oh, how she wished everything would end happily…

Surely, after all this, something good had to happen. Everything could’t just go downhill  _ endlessly _ , right? Ahsoka shook her head, trying to keep herself in the present. The past didn’t matter, the future didn’t matter, she had to concentrate in the now.

(Was that a Jedi teaching? Hopefully not. Ahsoka had developed a rather strong dislike towards Jedi teachings.) 

“What now?” Padmé asked shakily. Ahsoka saw she was close to tears.

“We are not sure yet. We’ll have to inform the Jedi Council -”

“Why? How have they helped us in any way?” Padmé interrupted, and Ahsoka wondered what reasons Padmé could have for disliking the Jedi Council. Maybe Anakin had complained to her? Very, very likely.

“I could get time”, Obi-Wan explained patiently. “If they understand that there’s more clues now, they might allow me to assist Ahsoka in -”

“Let’s take a few steps back”, Ahsoka cut in. “What can we gather from this?”

Padmé avoided her eyes. “I- he had a mission, of some sorts. Something to do with nightmares, he can be very determined about them, I… I would know, but he told me the last time, why wouldn’t he tell me now? Why would he not  _ tell _ me, I could’ve  _ helped _ -”

“He didn’t tell me either”, Obi-Wan offered.

“There’s a lot he didn’t tell you”, Padmé shot back, and Ahsoka made a face.

The two of them - Padmé and Obi-Wan - had been very tense with each other ever since Anakin disappeared. Ahsoka knew that Obi-Wan could likely restrain himself from emotional outbursts, he was a Jedi master after all, but Padmé… Padmé was under a lot of pressure, and her pillar was gone. Ahsoka had felt lost and alone and hurt and  _ everything _ when she miserably roamed around Coruscant the few very first days of being a civilian instead of a Jedi. Padmé probably felt the same, but she also had to take care of her job that was very, very important to the Republic and the entire Galaxy. Also, Anakin was  _ missing,  _ gone, not present, not available.

It was likely unavoidable to have a clash between these two, and Ahsoka felt there was something else below the surface. Something she simply didn’t get. Perhaps she didn’t want to know.

“Ahem”, Ahsoka begun awkwardly, “I think Anakin had a reason for not telling anyone. Unless, y’know, he told the Chancellor and that’s what got him killed -”

“Ahsoka -”

“- but so far we don’t know shit. Sorry, we don’t know  _ anything _ , that’s what I meant. Still. He felt comfortable enough to leave Artoo behind -”

“Or he was afraid Artoo could be damaged on his mission”, Obi-Wan pointed out grimly. “He wouldn’t have endangered Artoo if it was avoidable.”

“He was sure he was coming back soon”, Padmé argued. “Anakin also said he wasn’t going to partake in action.”

“But we have to keep in mind he’s Anakin, and -”

“I know Anakin, alright?”

\- and there they went again. Ahsoka decided she was better off thinking about this herself first and sharing her thoughts individually with Padmé and Obi-Wan, because this was not very wise, but merely a waste of time.

Ahsoka leaned back on Padmé’s really soft sofa and  _ thought. _

* * *

“I’m… so sorry I lost it like that earlier, Ahsoka, I…”

Obi-Wan had just left, and Padmé was leaning against the wall, covering her face with her hands. Ahsoka felt bad for her, and for Obi-Wan.

“It’s okay”, Ahsoka replied instantly, only just biting back an  _ it’s-not-me-you-should-apologize-to-but-that’s-none-of-my-business _ . 

“No, I was out of line”, Padmé sighed. “Again. I’m sorry, I just… It’s hard seeing… I… I need to sort out some things. I’m sorry for my childish behaviour.” Then, very quietly, she added: “Anakin wouldn’t approve, either.”

“It’s understandable”, Ahsoka replied automatically. “You have a lot on your plate, we all do. This topic isn’t the easiest way to relax after a long day, either.”

“Right”, Padmé agreed reluctantly. “Don’t you have work today?”

“Nightshift”, Ahsoka replied and flashed a not-very-enthusiastic smile. “Got a couple hours to go.”

“Oh.” Padmé seemed to hesitate, before asking: “Do you want to stay? For dinner? We could make something together, if you’d… like to?”

“Yeah, sure, sure.”

Ahsoka stayed at Padmé’s a lot. It made her feel good: Padmé was a wise woman with a lot of experience in many different fields ranging from the law to basic relationship skills. And she was funny. They would probably have even more fun if the absence of Anakin wasn’t hanging over them like a stubborn cloud, dragging their spirits down. At least neither of them were alone.

But Obi-Wan was. Kind of. He sure had his Jedi friends, but how much help could they offer? Anakin was not a good example of a Jedi friend - he was too passionate, too caring, too headstrong, too emotional, too almost literally everything to be your standard Jedi. Not that all Jedi were completely cold, feelingless stones, but.. some were quite close. Ahsoka strongly doubted Obi-Wan was getting pats on the back or any other emotional support. 

Ahsoka was lucky to end up with the two best Jedi in the Order - the one who kept the trio alive and could offer her wise words, and the other one who she could joke and talk with about (almost) everything, who both got them into life-threatening situations  _ and  _ saved them last minute. She was lucky to have people that cared around her. It had helped her a great lot. Still, there was a lot of things she’d have to work through herself.

Her friends had suggested therapy. Being accused of a bombing, getting kicked out from your… home and then being alone on Coruscant with nowhere to go  _ could _ be considered traumatic. Ahsoka didn’t know what to think about that. She was able to relax when working, and so far that was enough.

Padmé had become the older sister Ahsoka never had, in a way. At first Ahsoka had been scared, because she was very wary of who she befriended after Barriss, but Anakin trusted Padmé, and Ahsoka trusted Anakin. Even if he was an insufferable idiot.

* * *

_ “-and now to the update from Kamino. According to our latest report, the Head of the State of CIS, Count Dooku, has been recognized in the attack. We - oh? We’re currently receiving more information, please -” _

“Oh boy”, Ahsoka mumbled, staring at the holonews over the table. “Dooku joined the party? What is there on Kamino he’s so interested in?”

Padmé sighed. “He probably wants to sabotage the clone production.”

Ahsoka shook her head in annoyance. Of course that was her first thought, too, but it was illogical. “No, but he’s tried that before, and it didn’t work. He didn’t even join them back then, he sent Ventress. But I guess he doesn’t have her anymore. Still doesn’t make sense to me.”

“Maybe he’s getting desperate”, Padmé offered. “We’re winning.”

Ahsoka bit her lip to not comment on the ‘winning’ part. She could hear screams in her ears, cries of those stuck in the horrors of war. She also decided to keep her information about the most recent losses of the Republic safe. Ahsoka wondered whether Padmé even knew about them; Obi-Wan had explained to Ahsoka how the Republic temporary leaders along with the council had decided to sugarcoat the situation until it was under control. 

A loud beeping noise interrupted them, and Padmé stood up. Their berry cake was ready, Ahsoka could smell it. 

When Padmé was out of the room, she reached for the remote and turned the sound up; Rex was on Kamino, and Ahsoka needed news.

_ “- and it’s good news, it seems the attack of Kamino is under control, and that Count Dooku has apparently ordered retreat! Lenik, do you have any insight on this?” _

_ “It seems that the famous clone battalion, the 501st, has done its job again. Truly tremendous.” _

_ “Yes, yes, it was the battalion of Anakin Skywalker, after all -” _

Ahsoka quickly threw a glance over her shoulder. Padmé hadn’t appeared back yet. Good. A mention of Anakin was usually a complete mood killer. She turned the volume back down again and added a mental note to try to contact Rex later.

“A win on Kamino”, Ahsoka told Padmé when she came back. “Didn’t listen to the casualties, though.”

“A win is a win”, said Padmé, and Ahsoka noted that this reply was pretty out of character, coming from Padmé, but decided not to comment on it. The war was, after all, changing them.

Ahsoka wondered how big of an effect the war had had on her. It was pretty damn gigantic. She would not be this Ahsoka without all those wins, all those battles, all those losses, all that grief. Anakin wouldn’t have been the Hero with no fear. Obi-Wan would probably still been the Negotiator, she mused, and a smile made its way on her face.

Barriss wouldn’t have bombed the Temple. She wouldn’t have killed all those innocent beings, she wouldn’t have framed Ahsoka, she wouldn’t have been so evil. The war had made them all more… violent, Ahsoka thought. At least Anakin. Or maybe he had always been that way. She could vividly remember the look of hatred in his eyes in Zygerria, the rage in his voice when they were arresting Rako Hardeen, the indifferent look when he murdered several living beings just like that.

Those were all emotions. All things they shouldn’t be feeling, but Ahsoka knew that Anakin was special. She’d never seen any other Jedi so… broken? (Sad? Resigned? Lost?) than Anakin after Obi-Wan ‘died’. She’d never seen anyone so happy than Anakin when he saved them all. He’d never seen anyone so angry than Anakin, when… well, there were many examples. But like said, Anakin was special. He could feel everything, sometimes even harder than anyone else, and Ahsoka knew that was something she wouldn’t wish on her worst enemy - unless that would take it away from Anakin, of course.

Obi-Wan, on the other hand… had changed differently. Where Anakin had become more and more filled with unreleased emotions, he had become more… sad. That was the only word Ahsoka could use to describe it. He had  _ that _ look on his face,  _ that _ glint in his eyes…

Ahsoka sighed, earning a worried look from Padmé. Ahsoka had never really told anyone about her number one hobby: analyzing. She loved making essays about different beings, things, events and missions in her head. It was her way of coping with things. 

“So, how are politics?” she asked wearily, although she didn’t really want to know.

“A chaos, let me tell you”, Padmé replied with hoarse laughter. “Honestly, I was wrong to think it was a mess before, this is what a real havoc looks like. Everyone is panicky, Mas Amedda can’t get shit done, the Republic is falling apart.”

Padmé said it all very calmly, as if talking about the local weather or about gardening. Even her swearing sounded like an exotic dessert. Ahsoka nodded weakly, losing her appetite.

She tried to think about something positive. They won on Kamino, even with Dooku interfering, that was certainly something. Rex and the boys would come home soon. They all worked for Coruscant Police, now (although the 501st only temporarily), so Ahsoka would meet them shortly.

Ahsoka was about to finish her meal when her comm went off. Seriously, did she never get a break? She glanced at Padmé questioningly. It wasn’t exactly polite of her to have calls during dinner, but every call Ahsoka received was somehow important

Padmé nodded with a hint of a smile on her lips, and Ahsoka answered the call without looking at the caller ID, assuming it was Obi-Wan. There weren’t many other people that would call her personal comm outside work, except her friends and housemates but they knew she was busy.

“Tano.”

“Hi, kid, I -”

Ahsoka choked on whatever piece of foreign fruit she was trying to swallow in disbelief, and coughed very loudly, earning a worried look from Padmé and an exasperated sigh from the other person - who was not Obi-Wan, no, Force, but this was still someone she knew very well. Too well.

“What the hell?  _ Ventress _ ?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed, although this was a little messy, and there's a lot of repeating, but I like writing Ahsoka even though I don't really like her as a character. Maybe that's changing!
> 
> found a mistake? please notify me, I edited this very late so ahem.


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